Bob is posting Christopher Hitchens videos?!? Have the wolves begun living with the lambs!?!
Do you know what he said about Christian fundamentalism @bobknight33? It’s not flattering.

As a side note, and on topic with the video, every terrorist act perpetrated in America since 2017 has been committed by a right wing “Christian”.
The United States Department of Homeland Security reported in October 2020 that white supremacists (all right wing Christians) posed the top domestic terrorism threat, which FBI director Christopher Wray confirmed in March 2021, noting that the bureau had elevated the threat to the same level as ISIS.
A 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that out of the 85 deadly extremist incidents which had occurred since September 11, 2001, white supremacist extremist groups were responsible for 73%, while radical Islamist extremists were responsible for 27%. The total number of deaths which was caused by each group was about the same, though 41% of the deaths were attributable to radical Islamists and they all occurred in a single event — the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed by a lone gunman. No deaths were attributed to left-wing groups.
-wiki

You must love the 25% property tax increase he just levied on Orange county as retribution for Disney not supporting his “no gender in school” idiocy. The biggest property tax hike in history as a punishment for not falling in line….a tax hike that, thanks to Trump, is no longer deductible on federal taxes.

No sympathy for Disney, they gave Trump over $10 million. Reap what you sow…it’s going to make any additions they planned for Disney World all but impossible to permit, meaning Disney will no longer be investing in Florida, won’t be hiring contractors, buying construction supplies, won’t be paying for services like good roads, police, firemen, street lights, etc, hurting Florida more than the lost tax money….but for residents of Orlando this politically motivated attack is going to be extremely costly and will end the level of services provided by Disney until now….I think it’s over $160 million a year in bills they just transferred to their citizens over sour grapes…or as you say, doing a fair job.

Once again…..Biggest property tax hike ever, and an end to Disney construction, for purely political spiteful motives with absolutely no gains to the state, the county, residents, or anyone.

🤦‍♂️

Could be a tribute to Oscar Wilde, about your *edit - could you have mixed up the personas?

Oscar Wilde
Born: October 16, 1854, Westland Row, Dublin, Ireland
Died: November 30, 1900, Paris, France

Bob Ross
Born: October 29, 1942, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Died: July 4, 1995, Orlando, Florida, United States

[T]hat is not the America I know.

The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties—about paying the bills, protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures; men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten; parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we had.

All that is real. We’re challenged to do better; to be better. But as I’ve traveled this country, through all fifty states; as I’ve rejoiced with you and mourned with you, what I’ve also seen, more than anything, is what is right with America. I see people working hard and starting businesses; people teaching kids and serving our country. I see engineers inventing stuff, and doctors coming up with new cures. I see a younger generation full of energy and new ideas, not constrained by what is, ready to seize what ought to be.

Most of all, I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together – black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young and old; gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love.





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If you need it to sound more like Trump, just pretend in the middle somewhere that he said he wanted to kill a hooker and feed a dead cat to an ATM.

I'm a big Eagles fan. Their music brings back many great memories.

The Eagles Live album came with a poster that I laminated and hung on my bedroom wall. I've looked at that poster for hours over the years.

It was an aerial view of the Yale Bowl where the Eagles performed.

http://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/images/liveposter1.jpg

I dreamed I could have gone to that concert every time I looked at it. There was always a feeling of having missed something that was so awesome.

Then when the Eagles had their Hell Freezes Over tour I couldn't believe that my dream was going to come true!

The concert was not going to be at the Yale Bowl but rather, the next best place. The Citrus Bowl in Orlando! But to me it was the Yale bowl and I was at that concert. One of the most memorable times of my life.

I saw Satriani in Orlando back in the day. Also Yngwie Malmsteen.

I still have long hair too.

So, just fount out, Paula White, who is considered to be Trump's "spiritual advisor" used to run a church in Orlando where most of the congregants were poor and black.

She demanded they tithe at a really high level, sometimes insisting they give a whole month's salary. Other times she'd encourage them to donate jewelery, watches, anything of value they had on them. Afterwards she'd go through the collected items and pick out the ones she liked for herself.

She's not Christian, she's the Antichrist.

? I can't drive across the Pacific to Hawaii...or the Atlantic to Europe...Although, for low budget buses between city pairs (East Coast NYC-Boston, Washington-Bos, Orlando-Miami? West Coast SFO-LAX-San Diego...) ---maybe?

Or someone kidnaps your daughter and thanks to your preparedness and special set of skills you realize you're actually Liam Neeson.
This whole guns-for-safety-schtick has been debated online a thousand times. You know what protects you from crime? Tackling the very real social issues like poverty and racism that cause crime.
You have so many guns and yet your crime rate is so shitty. Mass shootings are routine in america. Where are all the good guys with guns to stop the bad guys when you need them?
It's not working. It simply isn't, crunch numbers all you want. Just look at Canada. They have guns. Yet, they seem to live so much safer lives. Is Mexico such a dangerous place because they don't have enough guns? They got the good Heckler&Koch rifles, you know.
You want to fight fights that I say should be avoided in the first place. Fix your social issues and less people will have reasons to try breaking into your home.
Same with the terrorist. Don't just bomb them, disable their ideological rethoric, disable their methods of recruiting.
We have islamic terrorists here in germany. They either try to build bombs (requires actual know-how) or they attack with axes and knives. Something must be working in our favor here. Same can't be said for the citizens of Paris or nightclub visitors in Orlando. They got shot.
The american paranoia is a reaction to an action that can be made far more unlikely to happen. Once you are ready to tackle the issues.
You can bring a fire extinguisher every time you go to the gas station in case a fire breaks out or you can just stop smoking around the gas station.

Although I'm in favour of sensible gun regulation, I'm not sure legislation alone will solve your gun problem.

The problem in the USA is, IMO, cultural.

The idea that you would need a gun for "protection" is quite foreign to almost every other country in the developed world.

But, as we've seen in threads here since Orlando, people in the US seem genuinely afraid that they will be "defenseless" if stripped of their arms.

Why is this?
When I've asked people before, I hear responses like "it takes the police 10 minutes to get to your house". Er ok, fund your fucking police?

But that doesn't address the fear of home invasion in the first place. Is it really that common in the US? And if it is, WHY is it?

It's simply not a concern for anyone I know in any other country (excluding war zones, etc). Clearly, if it is such a problem, having a gun isn't deterring people from doing this.

Maybe instead of looking at the short-term symptoms, you should be asking yourselves what is driving people to be so desperate that they are willing to risk their lives breaking into other people's homes knowing that the occupants are potentially armed.

The problem is essentially escalation ( the "Chicago Way").

10: "All the criminals have guns, I better have one too"
20: "Shit, if I'm going to rob that place, they probably have a gun, better go armed"
30: goto 10

Breaking this cycle means addressing inequality, racism, and poverty. People in the US aren't inherently worse than everywhere else, but your system is set up to incentivize criminals to carry a gun.

But FFS, at least stop burying your heads in the sand and let the CDC study this.

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To address your points

"Did you even read the article I linked?"
Sorry, I didn't. I opened it, but I really don't have time to read a 40-page law review article.

"In other words, you're flat out wrong when you say the 2nd amendment wasn't about self-defense".
Ok, we can agree to disagree there, but the point still stands that the statement "The WHOLE point of the second amendment... is so we can defend ourselves" (emphasis mine) is incorrect. I'll grant you it might be PART of it.

"I'm not sure why your tone is so dismissive in this thread."
Because I'm tired of trying to convince Americans to stop murdering each other.

"you're quite lucky to live in a country where your government protects you from growing your own food by throwing all those dangerous gardeners in prison. "
Please tell me you realise that's satire because your tone kinda makes me think you're taking that seriously. No, gardens are not illegal in NZ. Almost everyone I know grows some of their own food (at least, those of us lucky enough to afford a house with a garden).

"New Zealand has a shit-ton of guns (about one for every four people)"
Agreed. I even previously brought this up myself.

"people own them for a variety of reasons, from sport"
I know, I have friends who target shoot and hunt

"to self-defense"
cue wrong buzzer sound effect.

To get a gun in NZ you need a Firearms licence. To get this , you will be interviewed, and

You will have difficulty being deemed 'fit and proper' to possess or use firearms if you have:
...
indicated an intent to use a firearm for self-defence.

Have some people (shock, horror) lied to the cops to get a licence? Probably, but in general, no-one here actually wants a gun for self-defense.

Look, I have no problem with people using guns. I just think that maybe you could all stop fetishising them so much and realise that you live in the 21st century and not the old west.

Personally, I'm with Jim Jeffries on this one.
*related=http://videosift.com/video/Jim-Jefferies-on-gun-control

If guns were banned the Orlando killer would have used a bomb.

It's important to note that this was taped a couple of weeks BEFORE the Orlando shooting.